Iamblichus: On the Mysteries · 216 of 218 · tr. Thomas Taylor

Chapter VIII-bd

The joint risings and settings.

145 .

i.

e.

Through a period of 300,000 years; and Procl.

in Tim.

lib.

iv.

p.

277, informs us that the Chaldeans had observations of the stars which embraced whole mundane periods.

What Proclus likewise asserts of the Chaldeans is confirmed by Cicero in his first book on Divination, who says that they had records of the stars for the space of 370,000 years; and by Diodorus Siculus, Bibl.

lib.

xi.

p.

118, who says that their observations comprehended the space of 473,000 years.

146 .

“We say,” says Hephestion, “that a star is the lord of the geniture, which has five conditions of the lord of the nativity in the horoscope; viz.

if that star receives the luminaries in their proper boundaries, in their proper house, in their proper altitude, and in the proper triangle.” He also adds, “and if besides it has contact, effluxion, and configuration.” See likewise Porphyry in Ptolemæum, p.

191.

147 .

According to the Egyptians every one received his proper dæmon at the hour of his birth; nor did they ascend any higher, in order to obtain a knowledge of it.

For they alone considered the horoscope.

See Porphyry apud Stobæum, p.

201, and Hermes in Revolut.

cap.

iv.

148 .

In the original ενταυθα δε ουν και η της αληθειας παρεστι θεα, και η της νοερας επιστημης .

But instead of η της νοερας απιστημης , which appears to me to be defective, I read η κτησις της νοερας επιστημης .

149 .

For θεωτος here, I read θεωτερος .

150 .

In the original, by a strange mistake, των θνητων is inserted here instead of των νοητων , which is obviously the true reading.

The version of Gale also has intelligibilium .

151 .

i.

e.

Man, considered as a rational soul, connected with the irrational life; for this man has dominion in the realms of generation.

152 .

See the second edition of this work in Nos.

XV.

and XVI.

of the Pamphleteer.

153 .

i.

e.

Of natures which are not connected with body.

154 .

For in these, all are in each, but not all in all.

155 .

By an unaccountable mistake here του σωματος is inserted instead of της ψυχης ; but the mistake is not noticed by the German editor of these Scholia.

156 .

And in consequence of this mistake, for αυτο in this place, we must read αυτα .

157 .

Odyss.

xi.

612.

158 .

Iliad xv.

605.

159 .

For μουσικης here, it is necessary to read μαντικης .

160 .

And for μαντικην read μαντικη .

161 .

For υπο here, it is necessary to read υπερ .

162 .

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Themes

Correspondencecosmology

The Hermetic axiom that the structure of the cosmos is reflected at every scale — 'as above, so below; as within, so without' — making each level a legible map of the others.

The passage details astrological conditions (luminaries, house, altitude) that determine a star's lordship over geniture, reflecting the cosmic mapping principle.

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Cosmic Consciousnessanthropology

A state of awareness transcending ordinary human consciousness, often involving unity with the universe or higher dimensions.

The text references 'νοερας επιστημης' (intellectual knowledge) and the presence of divine truth at birth, implying a cosmic awareness.

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Divinationpraxis

The ritual practice of discerning hidden knowledge — future events, concealed causes, or the will of higher powers — through a structured technique applied to cards, lots, astrological configuration, entrails, oracle, or other sortilege, rather than through direct unmediated insight. Distinct from gnosis_direct_knowledge (unmediated inner apprehension of ultimate truth, not a technique applied to an external medium) and cosmic_sympathy (the underlying doctrine of hidden affinity that many divinatory techniques presuppose, rather than the practice of consulting it).

The passage explicitly discusses astrological configuration — the horoscope, the lord of the nativity with five specific conditions (luminaries in proper boundaries, house, altitude, triangle, plus contact, effluxion, and configuration) — as a structured technique for discerning hidden knowledge.

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Divine Hiddennesstheology

The supreme God's radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge or perception; the Hidden Father.

The text notes that Egyptians alone considered the horoscope and that divine truth was present but not ascended to higher knowledge.

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Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology

Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.

The passage emphasizes the Egyptian practice of receiving one's dæmon at birth and possessing 'νοερας επιστημης' (intellectual knowledge) as a direct divine gift.

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Hidden Sayingssoteriology

Esoteric teachings reserved for those ready to receive them; outer meaning conceals an inner liberating truth.

The text references the Egyptians having records of stars for vast periods, implying esoteric astronomical knowledge reserved for them.

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Numerical Mysticismtheology

Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality.

The passage explicitly cites specific astronomical cycles (300,000 years) and astrological conditions as the basis for determining divine lordship.

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Self Knowledgesoteriology

The recognition of one's own true divine nature as the primary path to liberation; 'know thyself' as soteriology.

The text states that Egyptians received their proper dæmon at birth, implying a direct connection between the individual and cosmic order.

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Stellar Determinismcosmology

The rule of the stars and planetary powers over mortal destiny — the astrological governors whose spheres bind souls to birth, error, and death; in Sethian gnosis the 'error of the stars' that the savior exposes, and from which the incorruptible generation alone is free. Distinct from cosmic_sympathy (a doctrine of universal affinity) in being a bondage-to-powers claim, and from archons (the rulers as personal beings) in concerning the astral machinery itself.

The passage discusses stars as 'lords of the geniture' with specific conditions governing the nativity, the Egyptian daemon received at the hour of birth, and Chaldean stellar observations spanning hundreds of thousands of years, all pointing to stellar governance over mortal destiny.

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